Why Roast Battle is Becoming The Biggest Can’t Miss Show in Comedy

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Roast Battle is the ultimate “you had to be there” experience, and fortunately New Yorkers will get the chance Saturday November 8th thanks to the New York Comedy Festival. It’s what you’d get if you combined 8 Mile style rap battles with a Comedy Central Roast and held it at a circus. Roast Battle is the brainchild of comedians Rell Battle and Brian Moses, who took a couple of comedians trading barbs at a late night open mic and turned it into a standing room only weekly event in The Comedy Store’s Belly Room.

It’s what you’d get if you combined 8 Mile style rap battles with a Comedy Central Roast and held it at a circus.

Each week features two younger comedians, battling through three rounds of the best “your mama” jokes they could come up with, judged hilariously and often harshly by a panel of heavyweights like Sarah Silverman, Deon Cole, Sherrod Small and Bobby Lee, all presided over by the Roastmaster General himself, Jeffrey Ross. Oh yeah, there’s also a “racist couple” sitting in the front row and the “all negro wave” (which actually includes a white guy) who add color (no pun intended) by running onstage to show approval for hard hits with signs, accessories, sometimes shirtless, even by hoisting a combatant on their shoulders and parading around.

The NYCF edition is upping the ante, with multiple killer matchups including Bonnie McFarlane, Mike Lawrence, Ari Shaffir and Big Jay Oakerson, with Dave Attell and Gilbert Gottfried adding color commentary.

In honor of this dream lineup, we talked to creators Rell & Brian to find out what their ultimate Roast Battles of all time would be.

Ultimate Roast Battle: Historical Figures.

Malcolm X v Bull Connor or David Duke.  Both guys agreed they’d like to see Malcom X go up against a heavyweight racist, like Bull Connor (the man who started the classy “fire hoses and attack dogs” trend) or David Duke. But “it would probably end in a stalemate because there’s enough racists on both sides.”

Susan B Anthony v Jenna Jameson.  Hit another great social issue – gender equality.

Roosevelt v Roosevelt: Teddy v FDR.  Just for fun.

Ultimate Roast Battle:  Musicians.

Dave Matthews vs John Mayer.

Biggie v Tupac.  “Since in the Roast Battle there’s no real violence, so they’d have to rap it out and then shoot each other in the parking”

Ultimate Roast Battle Great Comedians.

Buddy Hackett v Jeff Ross

Charlie Chaplin v Harpo Marx.  The silent roast battle.

Dave Attell vs anybody.

 

Roast Battle in New York takes place this Saturday Night at 10:00 at the Gramercy Theater.  Tickets are $42 but you won’t want to miss this. It will be epic and we will be there to cover it.  Get tickets here.

 

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Amy Hawthorne

Amy E Hawthorne is a New York by way of LA comedy journalist and founder of ComedyGroupie.com. She's also a produced numerous stand-up shows, got a paycheck and a drinking problem from The Comedy Store and is convinced that the Big Avocado lobby are the ones who really pull the strings in this country.
Amy Hawthorne
Amy Hawthorne
Amy E Hawthorne is a New York by way of LA comedy journalist and founder of ComedyGroupie.com. She's also a produced numerous stand-up shows, got a paycheck and a drinking problem from The Comedy Store and is convinced that the Big Avocado lobby are the ones who really pull the strings in this country.